Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart would like nothing better than for the Tide's opponents to run the ball straight at them this year. But he knows that's probably not going to happen.

"We're a great defense when we've got the right 11 on the field. When we got to our fifth and sixth DB, we're not as good," Smart told a sold-out crowd at the Wade Office Equipment LArche Football Preview on Thursday in Mobile. "We got exposed at times last year and that's where we tried to improve in the off-season - playing multiple defenses, playing nickel and dime.

"We're best when teams try to run at us. That's what we're built to stop."

Smart said he believes offenses in the SEC are getting more complex, and it's up to the league's defenses to keep pace.

"The offensive coordinators are doing so much more. They're making you defend every inch of the field," he said. "We saw that against Florida and against Utah, where we got exposed a little bit defensively. We had a pretty good defense - were ranked third nationally - but got exposed a little bit as a team."

On Julio Jones: "Julio is one of the hardest workers I've ever been around. He's one of those special kinds of kids who's out there every day, competing. He comes by me at stretching and says, 'It's going to be a long day, coach.' I say, 'You're right.' We've got nobody who can cover him. ... But he makes us better as a defense."

On Greg McElroy: The players believe in him and I believe he throws the deep ball a lot better than John Parker. It's something that hurt us (the Alabama defense) during the spring. He did a good job."

On Rolando McClain and Don'ta Hightower: "They look better than the the ones we had with the Dolphins when I was there. They're dominant players."

On Nick Saban: "He's one of the most focused, hard-working people I've ever been around. ... He's got the most unbelievable focus of anybody I've ever been around of being able to go from Point A - defense - to special teams to offense. He can really contribute on all three and know what he's talking about because he's got such great knowledge of the game and he uses it to his advantage."